A Tender Surrender
by YDB
Summary: When it comes to love Serena Rexford is the very definition of committed. She’s been in love with her childhood friend Andrew all of her life and truly believed that their relationship had been predestined since before they were born. Full Summary inside.
1. Chapter 1

Full Summary:When it comes to love Serena Rexford is the very definition of committed. She's been in love with her childhood friend Andrew all of her life and truly believed that their relationship had been predestined since before they were born. Just when she believes everything is on the right track and Andrew is about to realize his love for her the unthinkable happens. How will Serena commitment survive the ultimate betrayal?

Darien Heyes is New York's finest football player. Earning everything in his life only made him deeply appreciates to the things in life that he has gained. He has an outstanding career, devilishly handsome looks, and the perfect fiancé. When one of his prized possessions is taken from him he's just about ready to do anything for revenge.

Will their mulishness get in the way, as these two embark on a journey of self discovery or will their heart relinquish to a tender surrender of the soul.

* * *

She walked clumsily through the never ending crowd of people as they pushed and shoved their way through, attempting to get from point A to point B as fast as humanly possible. Even after spending four years of living the uptown city life; she could still be considered a stranger when compared to the confident strides and brazen attitudes of the New Yorkers whom surrounded her. It's not as if she was clumsily by nature, although she could barely handle her own in the New York crowed on normal days. Today she was, yet again, put in a situation that would eventually lead to clumsiness. Despite having a good pair of legs she was a good deal shorter than everyone else, thus making it even harder to see exactly where she was supposed to go.

She had several errands to run through out the day, and presently she was carrying two arms full of manila folders full of documents that needed to be turned in before the closing hours. In one hand she securely held an over priced soft drink, while in the other, an equally over priced street corner hotdog. She tried her very best to eat, walk, and balance all at the same time without getting her clothes smeared with mustard smudges or coke stains, exactly how she managed such a task will continue to remain one of life's greatest mysteries.

She had a very pressing matter that required her attention at this moment, and she had to finish it on time before completing the rest of her errands for the day. Her boss had recently called her during her lunch break to inform her that she needed to take his place at a meeting in his favorite café. She opted for eating before arriving at the café in order to move things along quicker; also she had learned her lesson from prior experience that in these particular meetings eating beforehand would just make her life easier. After tripping a few more times, and stuffing her hotdog down her throat she arrived to café. She had no free hands or time to straighten her clothes so she didn't bother with the effort. She immediately spotted who she was looking for. They were all the same, always sitting in the back by themselves with a careful eye on the front entrance obviously expecting somebody. She waltz straight up to the woman waiting in the back extending her hand and nervously introduced herself. "Hey, hello, hi my name's Serena Rexford, Andrews's personal assistant. It's a pleasure to meet you."

_Good God you're stupid_, she thought to herself as she realized what she had just said. Who on earth says hello three different ways in one sentence. She might have well just said 'hey, hello, hi my name's Stupid.' No matter how many times she had done this before the situation would always lead her to the inevitable path of clumsiness.

Serena thanked the lord that the woman either didn't seem to pick up on her sudden spell of dumbness or decided to show mercy on a victim of the socially handicapped. Instead the woman's eyes trailed lightly over Serena's appearance: from her tight and neatly pinned bun that held her hair to the loose fitting T-shirt and jeans, ending with the red flip-flops on her feet, each item a different color and nowhere in the vicinity of matching. Even her southern drawl adding to the number of mismatches that she represented. Southern girls were supposed to be belles, the most haughty and self-righteous women in all of America. She on the other hand was the most awkward.

When the woman before her was done making her internal assessments she gracefully slipped her hand in Serena's giving it a quick and gentle shake. The woman also curtly introduced herself as Mina Weston. Serena also made evaluations of her own. Mina was pretty, albeit they were always top model gorgeous. She had long straight blond hair cascading loosely from her head and past her shoulders ending just below the middle of her back. She had creamy porcelain skin and two deep blue eyes the color of the 

deep sea. She wore just the right amount of make up to bring out the rest of the flawless features that resided on her face. Her clothes, unlike Serena's, accented to her beauty. They hugged her body in all the right places, giving her an hour glass shape. She was a woman for the ages.

Serena flushed and quickly looked away when she noticed Mina giving her an odd look. Apparently Serena had taken a much longer time admiring Mina's attributes than Mina had spent on her. It's funny that after doing this at least fifty times she still managed to find a way to make the situation ten times more awkward than necessary. In an attempt to remedy, she blurted out. "Order anything you want. It's on Andrew."

Mina shifted in her chair in an effort to get comfortable. "So the rumor about him sending his assistant to dump his girlfriends is true?" She inquired.

_Shit_, Serena thought. Out of all the reactions she had received in the past, this one beat them all for most blunt. Serena tried to regain her composure. All she had to do was to remember to breathe and it would all be over shortly. At least the poor girl held no delusions about her fate like some of the others. As she looked back at all the tantrums of the past she realized that maybe a blunt reaction was better than a hysterical one, albeit now she have to admit she had no idea what to say to the girl. Serena opted to nod her head before speaking, completely terrified of saying the wrong thing. She didn't know whether to offer her condolences or offer her explanations as to why it just couldn't work out between her and Andrew. As she internally debated with herself Mina probably noticed her inner turmoil and decided to save her the effort of choosing. "Hm… well since I am here and he is paying for my lunch. I'm just going to have to make it a big tab, now aren't I?"Serena couldn't help but burst into laughter. Mina was going to be the first of the girlfriends she had to dump, that she liked.

"Yeah, you should also order enough 'to go's' to last you a week." Serena added offering her a warm smile.

"And make sure to give the waitress a big tip."

"Why stop at one when we could just tip them all." This time Mina laughed. It was then that Serena decided that maybe this meeting didn't have to be sped up after all. In fact, she was still hungry. It would take more than some street hotdog to fill her stomach. Serena then looked back at the times when she didn't know any better and decided to eat with them even though it was obvious that company— especially her company— would not be appreciated. There was one incident, when she was dumping Rei, that after the waitress set down her meal on the table it had promptly ended up on her lap. But Mina seemed pretty stable-minded. It seemed like they could carry on a normal conversation and then head their separate ways with no hard feelings. "So, how long have you been living in New York? I can tell you're not from around here." Mina asked.

They chatted idly learning the basics about each others lives, nothing too personal. Serena learned that Mina had lived in Ney York her entire life, and currently her professional career was based on random modeling gigs but that wasn't something she desired to do permanently. She had a dream since she was a child to be an actress, on Broadway. But for now she'd have to depend on her good looks until she had the kind of raw talent that would bedazzle an audience of thousands. Mina learned that Serena was born and raised in Texas. She attended the University of Texas for one year before transferring to 

Cornell University. Serena noticed Mina giving her an inquisitive look after she mentioned Cornell. She knew that the gears in Mina's head were straining to understand how a student from an Ivy League college became some one's personal assistant. And just as she was about to ask the questions Serena had been avoiding, the food arrived, and the subject matter was quickly diverted into small talk about trivial things like foods and music that they liked or disliked.

Before long Serena realized she was running extremely late for the rest of her errands. She needed to pick up his clothes at the drycleaners or else he wouldn't have clean underwear for the rest of the week—which now that she though about it isn't such a bad idea—but she knew he wouldn't be pleased with going commando in extreme cold temperatures. She also needed to pick up his check from work, send out his bills, retrieve Bill from the pet hospital—his pet boxer had just been neutered—and make sure he had his favorite doggie treats for his homecoming. She needed to get all this done before she could head down to his agents office to hand in some paperwork she knew nothing about.

Thank goodness that some kind of supernatural force was looking out for her well being because she managed finish all her errands just in the nick of time. She couldn't help but notice that his agent gave her a sympathetic look as she sprouted through his door panting wildly as he was putting on his jacket. She had just dropped Bill off at the apartment and literally ran her way to the building. "You work harder than any assistant I know Serena. You should really charge him more."

"Nonsense Mr. Barns, from what I hear Madonna's PA's got it pretty bad, and don't even get me started on the kind of jobs Mr. Trump has his assistant do." He laughed, sympathetically. Something she had no use for. She was very content with her life and she didn't need him feeling bad for something that she had perfected since youth. Taking care of Andrew was in fact the only thing that she happened to have a natural talent for and it was the only thing she ever wanted to do for the rest of her life. She bid her leave and took off for the apartment she shared with Andrew and his dog Bill.

* * *

Andrew had been her best friend since nursing school—no even before that—since the womb. Leanne Redford the wife of Derek Redford, her mother, had been friends with Amy Parrish, wife to George Parrish and Andrew's father, since high school. They decided it was only right that their children have the same bond they shared. For nine months they were inseparable. When they discovered that Leanne was to have a girl and Amy a boy they fantasized about the wedding their children would have. It was their destiny to fall in love.

Serena hadn't catered to Andrew's ever whim her whole life. It wasn't until she was twelve and her parents died in a plane crash. They were going to some convention for her father's job. She had begged to go with them but they refused to let her miss a day school unless she had to. She didn't stop crying for three days after Amy told her the dreadful news. It was just tears after tears, sobbing her heart out of her tiny body. The endless weeping eventually led the Parrish's to rush her to the hospital due to severe dehydration. When she had finally woken up, she awoke to Andrew sleeping awkwardly in the chair beside her bed. The nurse later informed her that he had been there with her all night, downright refusing to leave because he wanted to be the first person she saw when she woke up… and he was. Since then he was the only person she ever wanted to see when she woke up in the morning. Their mothers' dreams had come true, she had fallen deeply in love with him.

Her close relatives didn't fight over who would become her guardian. None of them were economically stable enough to take on a new mouth to feed. So when Amy and George offered to take little Serena into their home they heard no protest whatsoever. Serena almost couldn't believe her fortune. Albeit it hadn't been easy at first, cooping with a whole new style of living. But she new that she had to make the best of her situation especially since it allowed her to become such a large part of Andrew's life. She enjoyed making him happy, almost as if it were her calling in life. He as well grew attached to her making him meals, helping with homework, and doing his chores. He grew extremely dependant on her and even more so when they separated for college. It shocked the hell out of both of them when they realized they applied to different colleges. She couldn't believe that she had forgotten to ask him about his choices, she just assumed that they would naturally want the same things. But they didn't. Andrew didn't want to stay close to home. He didn't want a normal life. He had big dreams of having a professional hockey career.

Andrew had always been the athletic type. He played roller hockey on the streets with his friends sine they were kids. When he got to high school the football coaches gushed over him. He was the right size to take down anyone in his way and he was fast as hell. Their dreams didn't last long though. As he awkwardly tried out for the team they realized that he had no talent for football. Living down the shame took him a while to get over. Texans are extremist when it comes to football. George decided that instead of moping over his lack of football talent that he should try-out for the ice hockey team. The minute that Andrew stepped onto that ice it was all over. He knew what he was meant to do in life. During one of his games a scout from Cornell saw the talent he possessed and offered him a full scholarship to attend their university, and he accepted without hesitation.

Serena knew that Andrew's well being would be her number one job therefore she had to pick a major that could be translated into a hobby when needed to, photography. She had been part of the yearbook committee during high school. She found that taking pictures was like storing memories of things or people we see everyday, moments that we take for granted, or life's general tragic beauty. Since Andrew never mentioned his plans for after high school she presumed that it was safe to apply to the University of Texas.

It wasn't until after they had received their acceptance letters had they consulted with the other. Andrew was completely furious with her for applying for college without telling him. He thought that since she never said a word about the matter that she was just going to follow him to New York. And Serena was crushed that he would want to leave their home. She wanted her dreams to be his dreams as well—they were best friends—shouldn't his ultimate dream be her, just like he was hers.

The fight had lasted up until the day he left for college. They absolutely refused to talk to one another. They finally spoke at the airport when she could no longer hold in her tears… and her fear. She was terrified of him getting on the plane without her and never coming back, just like her parents. Andrew reassured her that plane crashes were rare incidents and that nothing bad was going to happen. He promised to call the minute the plane touch the ground of New York. Her hysterics almost kept him from stepping on the plane… almost. Serena didn't regain the flush in her cheeks until he called from New York informing her that he had made it safe and sound. Serena knew that their relationship from now on would never be the same.

After he left they didn't see each other again until Christmas vacation when he flew back to Texas. He had changed so much in the little time they had spent apart that she feared that she might lose him forever. Since he got back all he ever talked about was hockey and how great New York was for his career. It seemed like he couldn't last a sentence without uttering Cornell. Vacation went by faster than she thought it would and she was near panic with fear, she didn't think she could continue cooping without him. It wasn't until the week before he was scheduled to leave that he came to talk to her alone. Again it was all about Cornell, except instead of it being about his experience being there it was about her. He talked about how much it suited her personality. It was beautiful and she could take an infinite amount of pictures there. New York was a place that people just had to experience for themselves and it would do her so much good to transfer. He told her that she wouldn't have any problems being accepted given that she had the academic profile that could get her in anywhere she desired.

But Serena could careless about where her academics could take her, or the amount of pretty pictures she could take, or even the New York experience that he believed she had to go through before she died. The only way in which Cornell suited her personality was that Andrew was there. So she let him think that his speech about Cornell actually meant something to her than the ticket to his heart and she agreed that transferring would be for her best interest. She promised to start the transfer the minute she went back to Texas University, and she did. The only thing she refused to do was take a plane to New York. He drove with her the whole way there.

She graduated Cornell with a degree in photography, and Andrew a degree in business management. He was immediately drafted to play with the New York Rangers. She moved to the city with him but was reluctant to find work in the photography world. A job like that would only cut the limited time that she and Andrew shared. So she started running small errands for him at first, just as a kind gesture. As time passed she started doing more and more until she assisted him in almost everything. Although she never complained because doing stuff for him never bothered her. His manager noticed her hard work and was the one that suggested to Andrew that he start paying her like a proper assistant. It had been a running joke for a while until one day Andrew slapped down a check on her desk, and then continued to do so regularly. She never quite understood what had changed but decided not to discuss it since would only make him cranky, and the money did help with her personal needs.

* * *

Andrew still hadn't gotten home by the time she arrived. It didn't surprise her since he never got home early anyways. Although the vigorous part of her day was over she still had plenty to do. As she fed Bill his dinner she skimmed through her planner. After Bill was taken care of she walked over to her desk and proceeded to make phone calls. She called to schedule meetings, order groceries to be delivered—today was Friday and they should be running low by now—she also need carefully plan out next weeks agenda for both her and Andrew. When she'd finished it was close to eleven o'clock and he still wasn't home. He was probably out with the boys at some sports bar they loved to attend. Serena decided to take a shower and wait for him to return. She hated falling to sleep before seeing his face. Over the years she made sure to ritually see him before she went to sleep and after she woke up.

As she showered she thought about Mina— but not just Mina—about all the girls she had to dump for him in the past. He had a serious issue with dumping girls. There was something about women crying that made him extremely venerable. She also noticed that he never introduced her to any of them 

before he set her out to do his bidding. In a bizarre way that knowledge always comforted her. The fact that he never introduced them meant they didn't mean much to him. She still ranked number one girl on his list and that gave her hope for a future. All she had to do was patiently wait until he realized that these women could never fill his heart as she did. She had complete faith that soon he would ask her to marry him. He just needed to get his playboy tendencies out of his system and she was prepared to wait until he was ready, because she loved him.

Serena was toweling herself dry when she heard the familiar clicking sounds of the front door being unlocked. He was finally home. She haphazardly dressed herself and rushed to greet him. "Andrew you're home! You wouldn't believe…" her sentence fell short. Who the hell was that leech holding on to Andrew? Serena's voice got caught in her throat and she could feel her knees buckle from under her and she struggled with her body to stand up straight. Her stomach began to painfully twist into a tight knot. Serena knew that she wouldn't be able to stand for long without support, so she sought for a hall way table. What was going on? Andrew then took notice to her presence and graced her with one of his unchanging smile, meant only for her.

"Serena, I am so glad you're here. There is someone really important that I want you to meet."He seemed so childishly giddy. _This can't be happening,_ she thought to herself as he pushed the woman in front of him. "This is Rita." _No, please don't say it_. "My girlfriend." Everything went black after that. The last thing she remembered hearing was a faint scream and Andrew's voice. As she fainted she tried to convince herself that this was all just a bad dream. When she woke up in the morning she would see Andrew first—like always—and he would confirm that it was just an awful nightmare. That she had nothing to worry about; his heart only belonged to her.

* * *

Hello everybody, this is my new story. I haven't submitted it to my editor because I wanted to get it out as fast as I could. I Think my readers desive that. This is a taste of my new story Tender Surrender. I would really like to hear everyones thoughts. I will be adding a new chapter to temptest rose shortly so not to worry. Thanks for your patiences and I hope that you enjoy the first chapter. :)


	2. Chapter 2

An hour later a sudden spell of nausea pulled Serena out of her slumber. Her entire body felt heavy as she tried to open her eyes. When she finally managed to budge open she realized that she should have just left them closed. A blur of disoriented colors and shapes clouded her vision only helping to increase her queasiness. Serena figured that her unsettled stomach was the direct cause of the horrible nightmare she had just had. She cringed just thinking about Andrew showing up with some surprise girlfriend—as if that would happen—the day he introduced a girlfriend would be the day cats talked to her.

She waited until her brain stopped its internal spinning before she tried to open her eyes again. She was still assaulted by a blur of object only this time it lacked its intensity. With each blink she regained more resolution in her focus. "Serena are you okay?" She could hear his voice. His actually words were falling on an incoherent mind much too jumbled up to actually interpret anything. "I think you hit your head on the table when you tripped over yourself. Jesus, you have the worst clumsiness of anyone I know!" Andrew's beautiful voice continued to tickle her ears. _The voice of an angel_, she thought to herself as she moved closer to the voice of what she classified as a real southern man. With those elongated vowels and hushed consonants. She beginning to make out his face through the haze, his wisps of dirty blonde hair partially concealed by his old lucky Stetson hat. His hazel eyes that always reminded her of sweet caramel, strong straight nose, full lips almost too lush to be considered manly, and just under those beautiful movie star lips the strong jaw of a man. Andrew Davis was the perfect combination of tender manliness that she spent her nights dreaming about.

"Oh Andrew I just had the…" her words coming up short with the realization that her nightmare hadn't ended, since the shedevil in her dreams was sitting just behind her Angel of Love and heaven abruptly turned into a fiery hell.

"Andrew maybe we should take her to the hospital she is looking really pale. I think she might have a concussion."

"Naw, Serena's head is too hard. A boulder rolling over it couldn't dent that skull of hers." Andrew chuckled rubbing the shedevil's shoulder reassuringly. _Smart ass_!

"I don't know, Miss." Shedevil directed her attention towards Serena. "Do you see any weird spots?" _YES! A big one and it even speaks. _Serena couldn't will the words to come out of her mouth. She couldn't will any words for that matter.

"Maybe that fall affected her hearing skills." Andrew drew close to her ear. "Serena is your brain still working straight or do we need to seriously take you to the hospital." Even with his close proximity the knot firmly coiled around her vocal chords refused to loosen up. All she wanted to do was scream "pinch me" at the top of her lungs. But all she could manage was simple head movements so that they didn't haul her off to some hospital. Especially since hospitals don't specialize in waking people of from dreams. "Strange you're so quite. Usually I can't get you to shut up." His voice sounded so real but most dreams felt real anyways she needed more proof. She knew that sheer panic would take over soon if she didn't take this into her own hands. Slowly—as if time itself had slowed down for this single life altering moment—she pinched herself, hard. And it hurt, even worse.

Suddenly the idea of talking cats didn't seem so unlikely anymore. And it took all her mental strength not to completely lash out at both of them. _Thank God for yoga breathing exercises_! However 

the therapeutic inhale and exhale did nothing against the pain that gripped out her heart. The calming exercise promptly began to lose its affect, and she was nearly on the verge of wheezing as she tried to recover what little composure she had left in her small body. She knew that her only option was to talk to Andrew alone. She need force him into common sense. "Andrew," deep breath. "I would like to talk to you in private please." She said hiding her face beneath her bangs, avoiding eye contact.

"Serena I just told you the greatest news of my life, you shouldn't be tripping over yourself or asking to talk privately. We should be celebrating. Can't this wait till later."

"I don't think this can wait."

"Oh sure it can. Serena I love that you're so dedicated to the job. And believe me, you're the best assistant anyone could ask for, but this is a time for you to be my best friend." His words sparked the last of her patience and her temper flared. _How dare he even think this had anything to do with work_!

"I said we need to speak privately. Now!" No longer trying to avoid his eyes, she glared straight into them. The shedevil behind him shift uneasily at the harshness of her tone. Serena ignored the girls discomfort. She looked like a cat on a hot tin roof and truth me told it was probably for the best.

Andrew didn't take lightly to being talked down to and his eyes challenged her glaze. If Serena didn't know him better than he knew himself she might have been worried at that moment. But since she did know him she didn't worry about him contradicting her request. He never went against her because no matter who the shedevil is or how important. Serena would always be his number on priority. She was his number one girl.

"Rita darlin' I hope you don't mind finding your way to the kitchen and keeping yourself busy while me and Serena here have ourselves a little talk."

"Of course not."

"Hold on there," Serena interjected just as Rita was about to leave to the kitchen. "Andrew I think it would be best if we call this a night. It is late and this might take a while. Why don't I call your _friend_ a cab?" Rita looked between the two nervously waiting for Andrew's response—the lighting shooting between the two deadly.

"Well alright Serena, you do that. I'll wait with my _girlfriend_ downstairs until the cab arrives. When I get back we can get to that talking, because I do believe there is much we need to discuss." Andrew directed Rita to the front door, but not before sending one last scornful glance in Serena's direction. The minute he disappeared from sight her stern façade disappeared and all her pent up anxieties took over. It didn't take long before she found herself hyperventilating. Never before had she ever addressed him so brusquely in front of another person. But the sweet and innocent looking shedevil couldn't be considered another person. And she allowing Andrew to assume that was nothing wrong from would only _matters_ worse. She did the right thing…

After a few deep breathing exercises she lifted herself off the floor and to the nearest telephone, and ordered a cab for Andrew's "girlfriend". Just thinking about how he emphasized the word "girlfriend" 

to prove some insignificant point made her want to break something—preferably over his dumb head—cause he needed some sense knocked into him.

It took Andrew nearly an hour before he came back to their apartment, spitting out all sorts of curse words. Serena waited for him in the family room. "Okay Serena you got what you wanted. I hope you have a good explanation for all this."

"Andrew I am extremely disappointed in you." That certainly caught him off guard since it was obvious to him that he had been the one wrong. "Actually I don't think I've ever been this disappointed with you, _ever_."

"I am sorry but I don't see how you could be disappointed with me. I wasn't the one who rudely dismissed a guest. And not just any guest, my new girlfriend. I don't think I ever seen you act so indecently, _ever_."

"That's beside the point. How long have you been seeing this girl?" She lifted her eyes to be level with his—attempting to provoking his unease and it worked.

"It's not as bad as your making it Serena. I've known Rita for a couple of months now. And I guess I've always just thought of her as a friend… until recently. " Andrew turned his back to her, the way some men did when they were nervous. "A couple of weeks ago something happened. And I was about to loose her to some other guy. The thought made me go crazy. I could barely function properly and she was all I thought about. That's when I realized I couldn't let her go. She had to be mine. Four days ago I knew I couldn't hold it anymore, for better or for worst, I had to confront her. Oh Serena," His nervousness then changed to excitement and he turned to grab her hands. Utter happiness shining in his face. "She told me felt the same way." _Dear lord kill me_.

Question that had no answer swarmed her head. _How could this be happening with some other woman? How could he betray her after all these years? He was supposed to realize his feelings for her, not for some woman he hardly knows. What's a couple of months compared to years?_ "So… let me get this straight. Just so we're perfectly clear. You not only cheated on Mina," his face grew pale, "and made me dump her! You also stole some other mans girl, and did all this behind my back. And I'm supposed just smile at some _stranger_ and pretend that there is nothing wrong. Andrew—forgive me—but how in the _hell_ am I supposed to be okay with all this."

"I didn't mean for it to happen the way it did."

"But that's that end result, right! Whether you meant to or not you hurt a lot of people just to get what _you_ wanted." Mina wasn't hurt at all but she wasn't about to let him know that. Plus she was sure that the man who Andrew stole this hussy from was as complete devastated as she was. "Don't you see how selfish you're being?"

"Yeah… I'm sorry, truly I am sorry." He replied

"I think it would be best if you gave your new relationship some thought. I'm sure that—"

"No!"

"Andrew listen to reason here."

"I said, no."

"Goddamnit! why are you being like this? You understand that what did was wrong. Don't you?"

"Serena I said I was sorry. That's about all I can do because I am not leaving Rita. I know she's the one."

"You've got to be kidding me here! How do you—of all people—come to that conclusion. You can barely dress yourself in the morning with out asking for me to help pick out one thing or the other. And now you've just decided she's _the one_. Listen to the girl that picks out your socks! You don't know that!" She said accusingly fully aware she was crossing some kind of invisible line that indicates the out of line comments from the inoffensive ones. But she couldn't bring herself to stop. Everyone has their limits and she had just reached hers.

"Serena since you don't have a life—except for running ever else's—I don't really expect understand anything about love, so I am not going to even bother to explain it to you." Now he just took a giant leap over that forbidden line. And the minute they left his mouth he knew that he regretted them as tears formed in her eyes. "Serena, I—I didn't mean it."

Serena couldn't even form a reply. The pain jolted all over her body. It took all the strength she had left to stumble to her room and cry the pain out. He didn't know is that she was actually an expert on love, and how cruel it could be. She cried until she lost consciousness and entered the realm of sleep.

* * *

The next morning proved to be the toughest day of her life. For the first time since her parent's death she deliberately avoided seeing Andrew before she left the apartment. Instead of waking him up as usual with a steaming cup of his favorite coffee, she left the pot brewing. She hated herself for doing this. It made her feel devious and manipulative because there was no guarantee that his alarm clock would wake him up. There was no guarantee that his coffee would even be warm by the time he forced himself out of bed. And even more important, there was no guarantee that he would wake up in time for his pending photo shoot with Gatorade. This indeed, was the worst possible moment for her to prove her point to him… That he needed her and only her in his life.

After forcing herself out the front door her anxieties began to kick in and sheen of perspiration graced her delicate forehead. Serena could feel her lungs slowly begin to constrict as she inched towards the elevator. With each step the hall seemed to expand twice its previous length, rapidly transforming itself the never ending hallway from hell. She almost even gave in and turned around, but her tenacious will wouldn't allow her to give into that sort of weakness.

It took her ten minutes to get to the elevator doors. Albeit she felt like she had been stuck in the hallway of doom nearly two hours. It really is amazing how mere seconds can stretch out to minutes in the mind when complete dread takes over the senses. Nevertheless she managed to make it all the way out of the apartment complex and actually feel proud of her accomplishment.

Serena hailed a cab heading towards the studio where Andrew's photo shoot would be held. She'd be arriving an hour earlier than schedule in order to prepare for his arrival and leave before he got there. While riding in the cab she pulled out the expensive Blackberry Andrew made her buy. He had insisted that this small complex device was an assistant's best friend. She used it to call the Gatorade Company informing that Andrew would most likely be arriving late.

It goes with out saying that they weren't too pleased, but handled the situation rather professionally, even offering to reschedule for another day. But Serena knew first had refused hand how complicated for everyone that would be. She remembered hearing about Andrew modeling with other famous New York athlete. Rearranging an athlete's hectic schedule was always troublesome and burdening everyone else with her personal vendetta against Andrew would be wrong. So she refused the reschedule.

_Yup he's definitely going learn his lesson after today_. She thought to herself as the cab pulled up to the studio. She quickly paid the driver and rushed towards the building. Her day was just starting to look up as she envisioned Andrew realizing his erroneous actions and calling her that evening ordering her to dump his new girlfriend.

At least she had those couple of second of genuine happiness before here recurring clumsiness caught up to her. By not looking where she was going she firmly crashed into a very solid object thus landing butt first on the ground.

_Where'd that frickin' wall come from_! She thought to herself rubbing her behind while kneeling on the ground. "Hey lady, watch where going!" _Shit not a wall_! She looked up to see a very irate man sneering down at her. She had to wonder why he was so hot and bothered by the collision since _he_ wasn't the one that ended up butt to the floor.

"I'm really sorry mister I didn't mean to—"

"Of course you didn't mean to. The problem is you did." He scoffed as he lean down towards her. For a second she thought that he'd do the gentlemanly thing and help her up. She should have known better because he only bent down far enough to pick up his cellular phone. "You're lucky nothing happened to my Blackberry because then I'd have made you pay for a new one."

She couldn't believe his nerve and he was even beginning to walk away. Serena had just had the last she could take of these New Yorkers' pushing her around. Forcing herself up she grabbed his arm just before he could leave her in his dust. "Why I oughta'— "

"You ought to what?" He interrupted before she could finish her reprimand. And as he did she was caught completely off guard. He was, without a doubt, the most handsome man she had ever laid eyes on. The embodiment of almost every woman's' sexual fantasies. He looked like a Greek sculpture come to life. It had to be sinful to posses such dangerous good looks. He was sin in flesh.

With towering height, he was a man already accustomed with using his size to intimidate. The sun illuminated his somewhat disheveled dark hair that only accentuated his devilish beauty. Her eyes followed the tresses down his forehead to an intense pair of midnight blue eyes. He had a straight nose, perfectly chiseled cheek bones and a strong jaw. The only softness lay in a pair of wide lips that even his scowl couldn't harden. His features were the epitome of macho masculinity. The complete opposite of Andrew.

Even with the mask of clothes she could see that he possessed a strong and healthy body with his broad shoulders, to lean hips, and long powerful legs. His clothes also didn't mask that he was rich. Although casual, his clothes screamed expensive designer wear. Even his denim jeans looked like they were worth more than her savings.

This man dressed and looked like an athlete. If it weren't for his cocky pigheaded attitude and that she preferred Andrew's gentler masculinity. She might have fallen head over heels and just let him get away with his rude demeanor toward their mutually accidental collision. "Look here you good for nothing city boy. I didn't just knock into myself so that means you weren't looking either. So before you go threatening people I think you should take your own advice and watch it mister." Determined to have absolutely the last word she picked up her cell phone from the ground and marched inside the building not even sparing him a second glance. And for the first time she was truly glad for New York's immense population. Most likely she would never have to see his bitterly gorgeous face ever again.

That thought didn't last long as she boarded the elevator and looked down at her cellular phone. Oddly the greeting didn't read Serena with cute lettering as it should. It bore plain text and a completely different name… Darien. _Aw damn it all to hell_!

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Hope you all enjoy!


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